In modern home construction, interior walls are generally formed by sheets of drywall material sold in standard sizes. These sheets of drywall material are cut, if necessary, and screwed to the house frame. The junctures of adjacent sheets of drywall material are taped, drywall compound is applied over the taping, and, usually, a texture material is applied to the entire wall surface to hide any imperfections in the surface and present a pleasing aesthetic effect. The entire surface is then painted and trimmed.
Under normal use, such walls may be damaged by, for example, screws or nails used to hang pictures and the like, accidental impact of hard objects, and the settling of the frame on which the wall is formed. Any of these events may cause holes, gouges, and cracks that mar the appearance of the wall. Any damage that mars the normal appearance of a wall surface or the like will be referred to herein as an irregularity.
To cover such an irregularity, drywall compound may be applied over the irregularity or a patch covering the irregularity and allowed to dry. A suitable base is thus formed for the application of new texture material, if necessary, and paint to obtain a wall surface at the irregularity that closely approximates that of the remaining wall surface.
Heretofore, such drywall compound has been purchased in premixed form in cans or other containers or in dry form to be mixed with water. When applied, such drywall compound is normally in a nonflowable, almost gel-like state. A portion of the drywall material slightly greater than that required to fill the irregularity is applied over the irregularity and smoothed with a flat-bladed tool such as a trowel, putty knife, scraper, or the like. The same tool is often used both to apply the drywall compound onto the irregularity and to scrape over the drywall compound to obtain a smooth, flat surface.
In many situations, the results obtained by the just-described process are satisfactory. In the case of cracks and the like, the underlying cause of the crack may continue, resulting in further cracking that may need an additional coat of drywall compound.
The drywall compound itself is relatively inexpensive and thus is often sold in fairly large containers. The storage of these containers can be somewhat inconvenient, especially for apartment dwellers.
Additionally, as at least one additional tool is often used during this process, it is often necessary to gather together several different items before damage to a wall may be repaired. In a nonprofessional setting, the gathering of the items necessary to repair the wall can be inconvenient and cause such repair to be deferred.
Accordingly, while the results of the method described above of repairing walls are generally acceptable, the need nonetheless exists for a product with improved capability to cover irregularities and that may be applied in a more convenient method. The need further exists that will allow professionals to perform repairs and even original application of drywall compound on a small scale basis in a convenient manner.